


The trick is on me

by JasonPeace



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Comedy, Eventual Sex, Graphic, M/M, Male Slash, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-28
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-11-06 01:23:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11025651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JasonPeace/pseuds/JasonPeace
Summary: The movies Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012) and Thor: The Dark World (2013) as seen through the eyes of a Thor who's madly in love with his little brother, and a Loki who hates his older brother beyond all means and is determined to bring him down with the greatest trick of his life: the personification of Jane Foster.All scenes and dialogues are true to the movies until the end of Thor DW, where the story becomes 'original'. It will not include any following movies, and end shortly after Thor DW, with only a few 'original' chapters (I think).I added some of the deleted scenes, so if there's a scene and dialogue you don't remember from the movies, it was in a deleted scene somewhere.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone ^^  
> I know this isn't usually my fandom, but (as some of you may know) I had some real issues this year and I needed a change of scenary, so here's a Thor ff. I really hope you enjoy it anyway :3

"Once, mankind accepted a simple truth: that they were not alone in this universe. Some worlds, man believed to be home to their gods - others they knew to fear.  
From a realm of cold and darkness came the frost giants, threatening to plunge the mortal world into a new ice age. But humanity would not face this threat alone.  
Our armies drove the frost giants back into the heart of their own world. The cost was great. In the end, their kind fell and the source of their power was taken from them. When the last great war ended, we withdrew from the worlds and returned home to the Realm Eternal - Asgard.  
Here we remain as a beacon of hope, shining out across the stars. And though we have fallen into man's myths and legends, it was Asgard and its warriors that brought peace to the universe," Odin finished his tale solemnly as they arrived at the blue Casket of Ancient Winters.

It was the first time that Thor came to hear of these mortals, named humans, and at the time, paid no close attention to it, for this was just one more heroic tale of old that his father narrated to them.

"But the day will come when one of you will have to defend that peace," Odin continued seriously as he turned around to face them.

"Do the Frost Giants still live?" Loki asked somewhat fearful, glancing up at their father with worry.

Thor turned towards him with a confident smile. "When I'm king, I'll hunt the monsters down and slay them all!" he said enthusiastically.

Loki looked at him with a mixture of disapproval and worry, but said nothing, which bothered Thor a bit because it was his brother with whom he wanted to slay said monsters. But since Loki disagreed with him, as always, he turned back towards Odin, giving him a confident look. "Just as you did, Father."

"A wise king never seeks out war. But he must always be ready for it," Odin said wisely, walking past them towards the exit of the chamber, upon which both boys ran after him to take his hand on each side.

Thor was, as ever, the first of the two to speak. "I'm ready, Father!"

"So am I," Loki agreed.

Odin smiled at them both. "Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings."

At that time, Thor had still been unable to imagine what dire consequences their father's words would one day bring.

  


Many years later, once that memory had become distant in Thor's adult mind, the day had finally come when Thor would take the throne of Asgard. Something he had waited for ever since he could remember.

Nervously, he walked towards the closed doors of the throne room where everyone was gathering for the coronation ceremony. Loki stood there, waiting for him; clad in emerald and gold, the mischievous god even put the grand halls of Asgard to shame.

"Nervous brother?" Loki smiled amused as they waited for their father to call them in.

Damn Loki for knowing him so well... But Thor laughed confidently, unwilling to let him triumph in his knowledge. "Have you _ever_ known me to be nervous?"

Loki shrugged a little bit. "Hm... Well, there was that time in Nornheim..."

"That was not nerves, brother!" Thor brushed it off lightly. "That was the rage of battle."

"Ah, I see," Loki smiled softly; obviously he knew. He always knew everything.

"How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pulled us out alive?" Thor continued, still unwilling to let his brother know what he knew anyway.

Loki gave him a feigned confused look. "Uh, as I recall, I was the one who vailed us in smoke to ease our escape."

Though Thor laughed, Loki was right; without his magical skills, they would have never made it out of there alive, much less unharmed. "Yes," he agreed as a servant approached with a cup of wine for him. "Some do battle – others just do tricks." He had always been a little jealous of Loki's crazy illusions that had saved them on more than one occasion, and fooled him on countless others, so he always tried to play his brother's abilities down so Loki wouldn't suddenly start thinking too highly of himself. The last thing he needed was for his brother to know just how much he admired him.

The servant with the wine laughed at Thor's rather cruel comment, receiving a slight glare from Loki. A moment later, the man gasped and dropped the tray from which various snakes slithered away as it landed on the floor.

Loki laughed amused, giving him a mischievous smirk.

"Loki!" Thor complained as the servant took a horrified step back. "Now that was just a waste of good wine."

Loki gave him an innocent look. "Oh, just a bit of fun, right my friend?" he directed at the slightly pale servant who swallowed nervously. With a movement of Loki's hand, the snakes vanished into thin air.

As the servant hastily picked up the cup and tray before disappearing, Thor laughed along with his brother at the wicked joke. Thor himself had been victim to some of Loki's nastier pranks, so he really shouldn't be laughing about it, but he had been somewhat miffed at the servant who dared to laugh at a mocking comment about Loki's abilities; Thor was allowed to tease Loki – they were brothers, after all – but no one else was allowed to do that.

A second later, another servant appeared with Thor's helmet that he handed to him, reminding him that he was supposed to be crowned king of Asgard in a moment; now he was full on nervous again.

"Oooh," Loki said smoothly, gazing at the polished helmet. "Nice feathers."

Thor laughed, knowing Loki was just messing with him. "You don't really want to start that again, do you, cow?" he asked amused, looking up at Loki's horned helmet.

Loki feigned an affronted look. "I was being sincere," he defended.

"You are incapable of sincerity!" Thor pointed out. Though he said it in humor, this was a fact that had always unsettled, and drawn, to his brother; Loki was a mystery that even after so many years, he hadn't been able to solve.

"Am I?" Loki asked innocently.

"Yes," Thor said firmly.

Their casual joking suddenly became serious as Loki turned towards him with an unusual soft expression that Thor had rarely seen on him. "I've looked forward to this day as long as you have," Loki said gently, surprising Thor. "My brother... My friend. Sometimes," Loki shook his head with a small smile, "I'm envious... But never doubt that I love you."

Thor's heart skipped a few beats at those words; it had been so long since he had heard his brother saying those words, it was almost surreal. And he wished so much they were meant in a more than brotherly fashion, but obviously knew that was not the case. Nevertheless, knowing that his brother gave his full consent about the crowning and that there were no hard feelings between them, was an unspeakable relief to him, for he knew that Loki, too, desired the crown of Asgard.

"Thank you," he said solemnly, reaching over to rest his hand on Loki's shoulder; he wanted to embrace him, but this was as intimate as he allowed their physical contact to became out of fear of overstepping the brotherly boundary.

Loki smirked, lightening the mood again. "Now give us a kiss," he teased in his typical fashion.

Thor laughed, shaking his head. "Stop it!" If only his brother knew just how much he wanted to. Sometimes Thor thought that his brother's occasional perverted teasing was because he suspected of Thor's feelings, but given that Loki always laughed very relaxed about it – as he did in that moment – obviously, he had no idea. Or at least Thor hoped he had no idea.

Right then, the doors to the throne room opened and Thor walked through the cheering crowds of his people, towards the Allfather at his throne, in front of whom he kneeled before removing the helmet that he had just put on moments before. This was the happiest day of his life.

Odin silenced the crowd with a knock from his spear against the stone floor before he began to speak, slowly and confidently, the way he always did. "Thor Odinson, my heir, my firstborn."

From his kneeling position in front of the steps leading up to the throne, Thor's eyes traveled over his brother who stood to his left, averting his gaze a bit. He didn't look as happy as he had a moment ago. Thor had always been well aware of his brother's jealousy, though he had never understood it. Loki was the smartest, even though not the wisest, Asgardian Thor knew, and even though few noticed, he possessed abilities and knowledge others could only dream of.  
Or perhaps that was all just in Thor's mind where his brother stood on a golden pedestal – forbidden and unreachable.

Distracted from Loki's earlier words of affection and his beautiful but slightly sad eyes, Thor tore away his gaze to look back at his father who continued speaking. "So long entrusted with the mighty hammer Mjolnir, forged in the heart of a dying star, its power has no equal. As a weapon to destroy, or as a tool to build."

Thor tightened his hand around his beloved Mjolnir, tracing his thumb over the leather-bound shaft.

"'Tis a fit companion for a king." Odin nodded a bit before continuing. "I have defended Asgard and the lives of the innocent across the Nine Realms from the time of the great beginning."

Thor waited impatiently for his father to finally ask the sacred oath. Though he had waited so many years, now that the day was here, it couldn't happen soon enough.

"Do you swear to guard the Nine Realms?" The Allfather finally asked.

"I swear," Thor replied firmly.

"And do you swear to preserved the peace?"

~*~

Loki felt like screaming. How dare their father allow that arrogant idiot to be king! Ever since their childhood, Thor had been nothing but a spoiled, condescending nitwit who was showered with love and admiration from all sides; a love and admiration that Loki had never shared or understood.

Where were those Frost Giants?! They should have been here by now... Someone had to stop this madness before it was too late.

"I swear," Thor spoke again, nearly making Loki vomit.

"Do you swear to cast aside all selfish ambition and to pledge yourself only to the good of the Realms?"

"I swear!" Thor called, raising his hammer while Loki mentally rolled his eyes; as if his self-centered brother would even be capable of such a thing.

"Then, on this day, I, Odin Allfather, proclaim you..."

Ah, there it was. Distant rumbling that had to come from the weapons vault.

"Frost Giants!" Odin suddenly gasped.

Loki almost laughed triumphantly, but managed to compose himself before anyone noticed. He thanked the stars for their timing; a few moments later and that blond oaf would have been crowned king.  
They heard the thundering of the Destroyer down in the chamber where the Casket of Ancient Winters was kept, and Loki followed his brother and father to see what had occurred.  
There were various dead Giants lying around, but the Casket was still in its place, untouched.

"The Jotuns must pay for what they've done!" Thor said angrily, while Loki watched from a small distance, waiting for the tragedy to unravel before him.

"They have paid," Odin said quietly, "with their lives. The Destroyer did its work – the Casket is safe, and all is well."

" _All is well_?" Thor asked in disbelief, giving Loki a look that clearly demanded backup, but Loki didn't want to get involved just yet; if he wanted Thor to fall, he had to play all his cards at the right moment. "They broke into the weapons vault! If the Frost Giants had stolen even one of these relics-"

"They didn't," Odin interrupted him.

"Well, I want to know why!" Thor countered.

Loki took a small step back, watching the scene unfold; he knew the direction this was going in – a direction it had often gone – in which Thor let his arrogance hang out.

"I have a truce with Laufey, King of the Jotuns." Odin informed them.

"He just broke your truce! They know you are vulnerable!" Thor argued heatedly.

"What action would you take?" Odin asked him quietly.

"March into Jotunheim as you once did. Teach them a lesson. Break their spirits so they'll never dare try to cross our borders again," Thor said firmly. Loki smirked internally; Thor was so predictable; always so brash; he had no patience whatsoever. Not that Loki really had a lot, but at least he wasn't as much of a brute.

"You're thinking only as a warrior," Odin warned.

"This was an act of war!" Thor snapped, and they argued back and forth a bit more while Loki stood silently on the side, as always, observing.

"As king of Asgard-" Thor began but Odin cut him off, suddenly yelling.

"But you're not king!"

These were the words that made Loki's heart speed up. His brother wasn't king just yet, and their father was obviously displeased. If Thor was only half as stupid as Loki believed him to be, the crown would go to someone else... Someone like Loki. This was his chance, and things were running smoothly according to his plan.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone :3  
> Wow, this ff got a lot of reads here o.o on wattpad it was like... not even half xD its weird how certain stories have more reads on certain pages, isnt it o-o  
> well anyway, I hope you enjoy the second chapter ^^

Thor was raging mad. How could this have happened? Everything in his life had been perfect, and now his crowning ceremony had been postponed indefinitely.

Angrily, he tossed over one of the large tables that had been set for the crowning banquet tonight, that obviously wasn’t taking place. How could his father be such a fool as to not see that this meant war? The Frost Giants had nearly gotten the Casket! If Asgard didn’t attack, they would be seen as weak and scared!

With a sigh, he sat down on the large stairs, not knowing what to do. Would his father view him as unfit for the throne? Would his people believe him weak?

Suddenly he heard Loki sneaking out from behind a pillar, in his usual, stealthy fashion. How long had he been standing there? Had he witnessed his earlier fit of rage? Thor almost felt embarrassed to let his brother see him this way, despite having been in far worse condition in his presence before.

“It’s unwise to be in my company right now, brother,” he said darkly

“Who said I was wise?” Loki asked casually, sitting down next to him anyway.

“This was to be my day of triumph.”  
When it came down to it, Loki was the one person he could confide in, and the only one who always managed to make him feel better. Even in a desperate time like this.

“It’ll come,” Loki said softly. “In time.”

Thor focused on the mess he had made in order to avoid looking over at his brother, whose eyes he knew were resting on him. He felt so weak and pathetic, that if he turned to look into Loki’s green eyes, he would lose the little grip he still had on himself.

“What’s this?!” Suddenly they were interrupted by Sif and the Warriors Three who came in to see the overthrown table.

Thor cursed them internally; he wanted to be alone with Loki who suddenly leaned in very close to speak privately to him. “If it’s any consolation, I think you’re right. About the Frost Giants, about Laufey, about everything.” Loki spoke quietly, and even though what he said was very interesting, Thor was somewhat distracted by his close proximity that always made his heart race, even at completely inappropriate moments such as this.

“If they found a way to penetrate Asgard’s defenses once, who’s to say they won’t try again?” Loki reasoned. “Next time with an army.”

“Exactly!” Thor agreed; he knew he could count on Loki to understand him. Unlike their father, Loki was reasonable and smart.

“There’s nothing you can do without defying father,” Loki warned softly, and this time Thor turned to look at him. The last rays of the evening sun dimly lit the left half of his face, making him as beautiful as ever.  
If his companions hadn’t been in the room with them, Thor might have done the unthinkable and leaned just a little closer towards his perfect, brilliant, loyal and loving brother who always stood by him, even when no one else would. However, the magical moment only lasted a split second because Thor turned away, determined to follow through with his plan.

“Yes, there is,” Thor said excitedly, getting up.

“No, stop. I know that look. Stop right here,” Loki said alarmed, but Thor knew his brother would stand by his side no matter what.

“That’s the only way to ensure the safety of our borders.”

“Thor, it’s madness,” Loki argued urgently, and Thor was overcome with the desire to smile widely; his adorable baby brother was worried about him.

“Madness? What sort of madness?” Volstagg asked curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Loki said immediately. “Thor was merely making a jest.”

“The safety of our realms is no jest.”

~*~

“We’re going to Jotunheim,” Thor declared firmly.

“What?” Fandral laughed while Loki lowered his head to hide his smirk. That imbecile was so easy to manipulate it was almost worrisome.

“Thor,” Sif said quietly, shaking her head. “Of all the laws of Asgard, this is the one you must not break.”

“This isn’t like a journey to Earth, where you summon a little lightning and thunder, and the mortals worship you as a god. This is Jotunheim,” Fandral said direly.

“If the Frost Giants don’t kill you, your father will,” Volstagg pointed out as he made himself a sandwich.

“My father fought his way into Jotunheim, defeated their armies and took their Casket. We would just be looking for answers,” Thor tried to explain.

“It is forbidden!” Sif said urgently, but Thor laughed.

“My friends, have you forgotten all that we have done together! Who brought you into the sweet embrace of the most exotic maidens in all of Yggdrasil?” Thor asked Fandral who shrugged with a wolfish smile.

“Well, you helped a little,” he agreed.

Thor laughed again, moving on to Hogun. “And who led you into the most glorious of battles?”

Hogun gave a nod. “You did.”

“And to delicacies so succulent you thought you’d died and gone to Valhalla?” Thor asked as he continued to Volstagg who was still piling food on his giant sandwich.

“You did,” the large warrior agreed with a chuckle.

“Yes!” Thor laughed enthusiastically before moving on to Sif.

“And who proved wrong all who scoffed at the idea that a young maiden could be one of the fiercest warriors this realm has ever known?”

“I did!” Sif said proudly.

“…True, but I supported you.” Thor pointed out with a grin. “My friends, trust me now! We must do this,” he continued dramatically. “You’re not going to let my brother and me take all the glory, are you?” He asked as he walked up to Loki who gave him a slightly shocked look. Thor wanted him to join them? Thor usually never wanted him to join them… He preferred going alone with his warriors and avoided Loki’s company in such occasions… It had hurt his pride more often than he could count.

“What?” Loki asked, stunned.

“You are coming with me, aren’t you?” Thor asked him softly.

Loki’s stomach felt funny at the words; his brother wanted to have him by his side in this battle? “Yes, of course,” he agreed immediately, without really thinking it through. “I won’t let my brother march into Jotunheim alone.” Was he truly so pathetic as to come running as soon as his brother whistled? Obviously, nothing had changed since their youth… He was still a pathetic, sniveling idiot, vying for his brother’s attention… It was so pathetic he wanted to kick himself. Why was he doing this? He didn’t need Thor’s attention… He didn’t need an older brother to protect him. He could take care of himself. Couldn’t he…?

And yet, Thor’s hand on his shoulder was very reassuring, almost making him feel bad for having ruined his brother’s ceremony earlier. But that feeling only lasted for a second because he remembered how much he loathed his brother for… for being himself. For being so bloody perfect all the time. For being adored and admired by all. For always being better at absolutely everything. For being their father’s first choice as future King of Asgard.

 

And so, they agreed they would all be going to Jotunheim to teach the Frost Giants a lesson, and hopefully get Thor in so much trouble that he would never be crowned king.

 

“First, we must find a way to get past Heimdall,” Thor said as they gathered outside, geared up and prepared to ride to the Bifröst.

“That will be no easy task,” Volstagg said with admiration. “It’s said that the Gatekeeper can see a single drop of dew fall from a blade of grass a thousand worlds away!”

The others all chuckled. “Yes!” Said Fandral dramatically. “And he can hear a cricket passing gas in Niflheim,” he mocked.

“Jest not! He hareth all!” Volstagg warned.

“Please,” Fandral rolled his eyes. “Getting past him should be simple enough now, since he seems to be letting Frost Giants sneak by under his nose.” Fandral laughed it off.

“Oh, forgive him,” Volstagg muttered. “He means no offence.”

Loki fell behind a little to let one of the guards know where they were off to so he would alarm Odin to ensure they wouldn’t all be killed. And so Thor would get in trouble, of course.  
Though as he followed Thor and his loyal warriors, he couldn’t deny feeling a little proud that they had invited him along. Usually if they were in a battle together, it was because Loki had snuck after them or somehow gotten himself into trouble and needed his older brother to rescue him… He hated them all.  
Well, except maybe right now because he was one of them… They had actually asked him, Loki, to join them! As they mounted their horses to ride to the Bifröst, Loki almost felt as if he were among friends; for the first time in many years. It was a great feeling.  
Could it be that he’d been wrong by starting the conflict with the Frost Giants?

As they arrived at the Bifröst, they dismounted in front of Heimdall who stood watch over the Nine Realms.

“Leave this to me,” Loki said to his brother, being one of the only people in the Nine Realms who could deceive Heimdall. It was one of the first times in his life when he really wanted to help his brother achieve his goal, even if that goal would be his downfall.

“Good Heimdall,” he began, but Heimdall cut him off.

“You’re not dressed warmly enough.”

“I’m sorry?” Loki asked confused.

“Do you think you can deceive me?” Heimdall asked coldly. Loki knew he could, he just hadn’t started trying yet, so he smiled politely.

“You must be mistaken, I-”

“Enough!” Thor cut him off impatiently. Loki was quite disappointed at his brother’s sudden rough behavior, though not as disappointed as he was surprised by his own disappointment; the mighty Thor had never had the patience or appreciation for proper deceptions and manipulations, so why was he suddenly surprised that his brother didn’t trust he could do this? His brother never trusted him with anything…

“Heimdall, may we pass?” Thor asked.

“Never has an enemy slipped my watch until this day,” Heimdall said darkly, and Loki immediately felt better; take that Thor! He was capable of doing this, even if his daft brother didn’t think he could. “I wish to know how that happened.”

“Then tell no one where we have gone until we’ve returned. Understand?” Thor commanded, stepping past Heimdall without waiting for a reply.

Heimdall stared at Loki as the others moved past them. Did he suspect something?

“What happened?” Volstagg mocked as he walked past Loki. “Silver tongue turn to lead?”

They all laughed at him as they disappeared inside the Bifröst. All good feelings Loki had had earlier as they rode together were extinguished; how could he have been so stupid as to think any of them would ever see him as something close to a friend or comrade?  
The hatred he had felt for them before this crazy journey began was back with full force. Hopefully the Frost Giants would kill them all…

As Heimdall turned on the Bifröst for them, he spoke again. “Be warned. I will honor my sworn oath to protect this realm as its Gatekeeper. If your return threatens the safety of Asgard, Bifröst will remain closed to you, and you’ll be left to die in the cold waste of Jotunheim.”

“Couldn’t you just leave the bridge open for us?” Volstagg asked hopefully. Obviously the troll had no idea how the Bifröst worked… But then again, he was all brawn and no brain.

“To leave the bridge open, would unleash the full power of the Bifröst and destroy Jotunheim with you upon it,” Heimdall informed them.

“I have no plans to die today.” Thor smirked confidently.

“None do,” Heimdall said calmly, right before the Bifröst’s power pulled them into the wormhole that would take them to Jotunheim.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone ^^  
> Wow, this story got a lot more reads than I thought :3 I'm so happy... I do hope you keep enjoying it ^^   
> thanks for reading!

The cold stung against Thor’s skin as they slowly made their way through the ice wastelands of Jotunheim. Where were the Frost Giants? Why weren’t they coming out to battle?  
But suddenly he heard them. A voice. Was it King Laufey?

“You’ve come a long way to die, Asgardians.”

“I am Thor Odinson!” Thor called to the coward voice that refused to show itself.

“We know who you are,” replied the rumbling voice.

“How did your people get into Asgard?” He demanded.

“The house of Odin is full of traitors.” Now he was sure it was Laufey who spoke.

Thor was boiling with anger; how dare this wretched criminal say something like that. “Do not dishonor my father’s name with your lies!”

“Your father is a murderer and a thief!”

~*~

What did he mean with thief? What had their father stolen from the Frost Giants?  
Loki felt like asking, but obviously this wasn’t the right time.

“And why have you come here? To make peace?” Laufey demanded; obviously he didn’t know Thor very well. “You long for battle. You crave it.” Alright, maybe he knew him a little. “You’re nothing but a boy, trying to prove himself a man.” Apparently Laufey knew Thor better than most.

“Well, this _boy_ has grown tired of your mockery,” Thor sneered.

All around them, the sound of the Frost Giants’ ice weapons could be heard. They were so close to a fight. So close to Thor’s demise. The God of Thunder just needed a little more encouragement to lose control completely.

“Thor, stop and think,” Loki said quietly. “Look around you, we’re outnumbered.” Everyone knew Thor’s greatest war boasts were of battles won in which he had been vastly outnumbered; the egotistical brat loved challenges.

“Know your place, brother,” Thor snapped quietly, standing his ground like always.

“You know not what your actions would unleash,” Laufey warned darkly. “I do.”

Whatever actions those were, Loki was fine with it because nothing could be worse than having to see his brother ascend the throne.

“Go now, while I still allow it.” Laufey suddenly walked towards them, towering over them. For the first time since their arrival, Loki felt a chill running down his spine. Despite this place being freezing cold, he felt unusually comfortable (putting aside all the threatening Frost Giants, of course).

For a moment, Loki could feel Thor’s hesitation; he had to do something. “We will accept your most gracious offer,” he said humbly, earning an outraged look from his brother, but there was no further reaction. Why was Thor not attacking?

“Come on, brother,” Loki coaxed him, and to his great dismay, Thor actually turned around to follow him. Were they not going to fight?! Was the great, obnoxious God of Thunder simply going to walk away like this?!

“Run back home, little princess,” Laufey mocked.

Well, that worked too; Thor stopped dead in his tracks and Loki threw in a random ‘ _damn_ ’ for good measure.

A moment later, all hell broke loose as the Frost Giants and Asgardians began battling. Loki, as ever, preferred to remain hidden and let his illusions do the trick as much as possible while his brother flourished in combat, enjoying it a little too much for Loki’s taste.

Somewhere in the chaos, Volstagg could be heard yelling; “Don’t let them touch you!”

Loki had heard of the dangerous grip of the Frost Giants and tried to avoid it as he battled one, but the Jotun managed to grab his arm in a tight grip that instantly began turning his skin blue. However, to Loki’s great surprise, the touch wasn’t painful. Well, maybe a little painful because the giant was squeezing is arm, but it was nowhere near the searing cold pain that he had heard of, and to confuse him even more, the pleasant coolness and blue color spread all the way to his fingertips, giving him an unusual, calming sensation.  
Shocked, he looked up at the giant who was looking at him with such surprise that Loki was able to kill him easily.  
As soon as the giant’s hand released him, his arm began turning back to its original color. What was happening? That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?  
A sickening feeling began to settle in his stomach, but the thoughts were soon chased from his mind as he heard Fandral screaming in pain.

Suddenly he didn’t feel like fighting anymore. There was something wrong here. There was something wrong with him; why was he not cold? And why had he turned the same color as the giants upon being touched?

“We must go!” Loki yelled over at his brother; where was Odin? He should have been here by now.

“Then go!” Thor yelled back, obviously far from ready to give up – the fool. They were losing, and now Laufey had unleashed a giant ice monster that chased them towards an abyss.

Though for a moment Loki thought they would parish since Heimdall failed to open the bridge, Thor soared in to save the day, as always, heroically killing the ice monster. As if Loki didn’t hate him enough already; why couldn’t he simply fall over dead?  
His dreary thoughts, and all the approaching Frost Giants, were interrupted by Odin who suddenly made a glorious appearance. This was it; this was the moment Odin would finally see what a failure his golden boy was.

But of course Thor was too stupid to see that coming. “Father!” He yelled, “we’ll finish them together!”

“Silence!” Odin sneered at him.

Though Odin tried to settle things peacefully with Laufey, the Frost King declared them war.  
Perhaps this was even more perfect than Loki’s initial plan in which he only wanted to get rid of his moronic brother.

As soon as Odin brought them back to Asgard through the Bifröst, the Allfather and Thor began fighting while Loki watched from a safe distance, basking in the glorious sensation of seeing his father so angry at the perfect son.

~*~

Thor couldn’t believe his father was being such a fool. The entire universe would laugh at them for backing out of a battle that way! They would be branded as cowards for the next five thousand years.

“You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy!” Odin yelled, only fueling Thor’s anger even more.

“And you are an old man and a fool!” The moment the words left his mouth, he knew he had been wrong. How could he say that to his own father? He didn’t believe that… Not even a little bit. The devastated look in his father’s eyes cut through his chest like a blade.

“Yes,” Odin said softly. “I was a fool, to think you were ready…”

“Father,” Loki tried to stand up for him, but their father silenced him angrily. Thor wanted to run to his brother’s side to seek comfort and protection, but obviously knew he could not.

Somewhere in the distance, he listened to his father accusing him of all sorts of things, but the only thing he could focus on was Loki’s sad face. They both knew what their father was doing and what was about to happen, even though the thought was so terrifying that he didn’t even manage to think it all the way through. He could barely understand the words his father spoke as he stripped him of his power and took away his Mjolnir.

“I, Odin Allfather, cast you out!” Were the last words he heard as he was engulfed in painful bright light that blinded him so much he was almost unable to see his cherished brother fade away before he lost consciousness.

~*~

Loki watched gleefully as his despised brother was banished; this was even better than it had been in his fantasies. Unfortunately, Odin threw the hammer into the portal after Thor, out of Loki’s reach. So much for that then…

Though Loki had hoped for Thor to be gone – either dead or banished or whatever – he had really hoped to finally be able to have Mjolnir for himself, but with his father only allowing someone ‘worthy’ to wield the hammer, that was surely out of the question now.  
Already during the forging of the hammer, he had interfered, trying to prevent its creation, but all he had managed to do, was turn it into an actual hammer, rather than the spear-like weapon it had been meant to be.  
Not a day had gone by on which he hadn’t envied his horrible brother for his weapon, but now it was out of his reach once more.

But none of that mattered right now, because Loki’s attention was required elsewhere; he and his team were caught in the middle of a magnetic storm that strongly resembled the ones he’d been chasing for months. Loki was certain that these unusual occurrences were somehow related to the Infinity Stones, and if he could somehow get his hands on one of them… Asgard would be his.

As the car whirled through the dark storm, they suddenly hit something. Was that a person?!  
His intern, Darcy shrieked loudly next to him before the car came to an abrupt halt.  
After exchanging worried glances with his old friend, Erik Selvig, and Darcy, all three of them scrambled outside to see what they had hit.

“I think that was legally your fault,” Darcy said panicked as Loki ran towards the man they had hit; where had he suddenly come from?!

“Get the first aid kit!” The last thing he needed on Midgard was legal problems because he accidentally ran over a mortal… “Do me a favor and don’t be dead,” he said to the man lying on the ground.

The man gasped and turned around, nearly giving Loki a heart attack. It was Thor! Odin had banished Thor to Earth!

“Woah,” Darcy interrupted Loki’s internal screaming. “Does he need CPR? Because I totally know CPR.”

Loki said nothing, staring down at his dazed brother who stared right back at him with his bright blue eyes.

~*~

Thor groaned as he slowly regained his consciousness; his entire body ached and he felt as if he’d been beaten up by the Destroyer. Somewhere he could hear voices and there were bright lights around him; what had happened? Where was he? Where was Loki?  
Confused, he opened his eyes, and for a moment he thought his precious brother was leaning over him, but a moment later he realized it was someone else. Someone beautiful with a delicate, elegant face that resembled Loki’s; or maybe he was just imagining it in his delirium.

Groggily, he stumbled up as he remembered what had happened; he had been banished. Banished from Asgard. His home… His people. His mother. His father. His Loki.  
And also his…

“Hammer!” He groaned, looking around. Where was Mjolnir? He needed his weapon! Whatever this planet was that his father had banished him to, he wouldn’t survive it without Mjolnir. He had to go home… And what were all these people around him babbling about? His head hurt and he was confused. He felt so weak… as if all his strength had been drained.

“Father!” He yelled angrily; how could his father do this to him? “Heimdall! I know you can hear me! Open the Bifröst!”

The beautiful female was talking something that made no sense to him, but he had no time to listen to her right now. “You! What realm is this? Alfheim? Nornheim?”

The other maiden there answered. “New Mexico?” She said hesitantly, aiming something at him.

~*~

“You dare threaten me, Thor, with so puny a weap-?” Thor’s words were cut short by Darcy tasering him.

Loki nearly burst out laughing as he saw his brother twitching and falling to the ground; in an attempt to hide his amusement, he gave Darcy a shocked look.

“What?” Darcy asked innocently. “He was freaking me out!”

After they had all calmed down, they dragged Thor to the van, where Erik stuffed him in. “Next time you decide to taser somebody, make sure he’s already in the car, okay?” he complained.

“Jane! Come one!” Erik called him and Loki ran back to the car in order to take Thor to the hospital, even though Loki knew his brother would be fine – being a god and all. But of course the others didn’t know that, so for the sake of his role, he went along.

As they arrived at the hospital, they checked him in. “Name?” the nurse asked.

“He said it was _Thor_?” Loki said as innocently as possible.

“And your relationship to him?” the nurse asked again.

‘ _He’s my dumbass brother that I’d rather never see again…_ ’ Loki thought drily, but went with “I’ve never met him before,” instead.

“Until she hit him with a car,” Darcy pointed out.

“I grazed him,” Loki corrected, “but she tasered him.” And he loved her for it.

“Yes, I did,” Darcy said proudly, nearly making Loki smirk.

 


	4. Chapter 4

The following morning, Loki and Erik began filtering through all the data they had gathered.

"You don't think this was just a magnetic storm, do you?" Erik asked dubiously.

Of course, Loki didn't believe that, but he had no idea what it was either. He had come to Midgard years ago because, according to legend, sometime soon the planets should align again, perhaps revealing one of the Infinity Stones. In an attempt to hide his dark doings from Heimdall, Loki had cast the complicated illusion of Jane Foster, shielding himself from Asgardian eyes. The real Jane Foster had died in an accident over 4 years ago, upon which Loki had taken her place, unnoticed by anyone in her, or Loki's, life. From that day onward, he had been leading two separate lives – one as Loki of Asgard, and one as Jane Foster the brilliant Astrophysicist who would find one of those Infinity Stones so Loki could finally become king.

"Look, the lensing around these edges is characteristic of an Einstein-Rosen Bridge," he pointed out to Erik.

"A what?" Darcy asked confused.

"I thought you were a science major?" Erik asked her.

"Political science," Darcy informed him.

"She was the only applicant." And Loki really needed the extra hands, so she'd have to do even though she was rather odd.

"An Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a theoretical connection between two different points in space-time," Erik began explaining, but obviously Darcy wouldn't keep up so Loki helped her out.

"It's a wormhole."

"Hm." Darcy nodded, wandering off.

"Erik, look. What do you see here?" Loki held the images up for Erik to see. The star alignment was completely off for this time of year, which meant that something was out of place. They were getting closer.

"Hey, check this out," Darcy interrupted pointing at one of the photos from last night that clearly showed Thor coming down through the Bifröst. Great... How was he going to explain that? Should he ignore it? No... Jane would never do that. But what would Jane do? What would be the best thing to do right now? How would he get rid of Thor...?  
Though he had no plan, perhaps it would be wise to know what Thor was up to; keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Unfortunately, by the time they reached the hospital, Thor had wrecked the place and disappeared.

"I just lost my most important piece of evidence," Loki said darkly. "Typical!"

"So now what?" Darcy asked from the back seat of the van.

"We find him," Loki said determined.

"Did you see what he did in there?" Erik asked worried. "I'm not sure finding him is the best idea."

But they had to... Thor was banished to Earth and nothing more than a mere mortal... There was no better time or place to get rid of him than right now. The moment Thor got his power back – which would most likely happen sooner or later – Loki's chance would be over.

"Well, our data can't tell us what it was like to be inside that event, and he can. So, we're gonna find him," Loki made up excuses.

"So, we're gonna look all over New Mexico, right?" Erik asked sarcastically while Loki started the car to pull out of the hospital parking lot.

"Exactly," Loki confirmed, starting to reverse out of parking slot. Right in that moment, Thor stepped behind their car, and before Loki could stop himself, he stepped on the gas to run his brother over; again. Would that kill him? No... It probably took more than that, but at least it got rid of some of Loki's frustration.

"What?" Loki exclaimed loudly, trying to act innocent as he jumped out of the car together with Darcy and Erik.

"I'm so sorry. I swear I'm not doing this on purpose," Loki lied as he ran towards Thor who lay flat on the ground. It was quite satisfying, really; a knocked-out Thor who looked like roadkill. Perhaps he should run him over more often...

They took Thor back to Loki's residence where Loki handed him some clothes that an old lover had left behind. Since he lived as Jane Foster here, he made sure not to do anything suspicious just in case Heimdall was watching; luckily he didn't care for his lover's gender, so that made all sorts of intimacies easy for him, even though it had taken him quite some time to get used to his female body that he wasn't overly fond of, but it was better than being celibate. Especially because Jane got a lot more action than Loki did, given people either hated him or feared him. Sure, he had had plenty of sexual encounters with random people from random realms, but none of those had ever lasted for longer than a night at the most.

While Thor dressed, Loki threw him a jealous look; it had been quite some time since he had seen his brother so lightly dressed, and he had always been envious of Thor's strong, muscular body; no matter what Loki did, he could never manage to bulk up in such a way. Despite being very fit, he remained lithe and slender in comparison to his brother whose very bones were already massive in comparison to Loki's.

"You know, for a crazy homeless person, he's pretty cut," Darcy admired Thor, only angering Loki further. "Hey, sorry I tased you!" She apologized once Thor came over to the living room.

Apparently, Thor didn't care much about the tasering because he began inspecting some of Loki's equipment. Loki was horrified; if Thor realized what he was up to, everything would be over. "Excuse me," Loki ran over to him. "Excuse me!" He exclaimed, taking away the tracking device.

Thor gave him an odd look but said nothing as he inspected the shirt Loki had given him. "What is this?" He asked, pointing at a name tag.

"Oh," Loki said awkwardly, removing the sticker that read Donald Blake. Boy, was he glad Thor didn't know who he was talking to right now... "My ex." Ex was probably exaggerated given they had only slept together a handful of times, but it had been one of the longest 'relationships' Loki had ever been in. "Good with patients and bad with relationships," he informed his brother. Why was he telling him this? He had never spoken about his intimate life with Thor before...Or anyone else, for that matter. "Uh... They're the only clothes I had that would fit you," he said stupidly, being annoyingly aware of the fact that the clothes fit Thor a lot better than they had fit Donald.

"They will suffice," Thor said in his typical arrogant fashion as he walked away.

"You're welcome," Loki muttered.

"This mortal form has grown weak," Thor continued, amusing Loki; here on Earth, Thor's way of talking sounded so retarded. "I need sustenance!"

While they headed to a local diner in order to get food for Thor, Loki's other half had worries in Asgard. Though so far, most things were going according to plan for him aside from Thor suddenly showing up on Earth to interrupt with his hunt for the Infinity Stones, Mjolnir being banished along with goldilocks, and Thor's comrades suspecting that he was involved with the Frost Giant assault on coronation day, that is.  
But none of that mattered in comparison to the fact that there was something wrong with him. In search of answers, Loki snuck into the chamber that stored the Casket of Ancient Winters, and carefully placed his hands on its sides, lifting it off the socket. It didn't take long before he felt the soft, cool sensation touch his fingertips and slowly make its way up his hands.

"Stop!" Odin startled him.

"Am I cursed?" Loki asked confused.

"No," Odin replied calmly.

"What am I?" Of course, he had begun to make up wild theories, but surely none of those could be true?

"You're my son."

It was a typical answer from the Allfather, but not the one Loki wanted to hear. By now, the cool sensation had washed over his entire body, turning him into an unfamiliar creature that felt so unlike himself – yet so good.

"What more than that?" He asked gravely. After releasing the Casket, the sensation quickly began to disappear again, even though he wished he could hold it. "The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?"  
Laufey had told them – he had told them what a thief Odin was.

"No," Odin replied softly, even though Loki already knew and didn't need his answer. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple and found a baby. Small, for a giant's offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die." Odin paused for a moment before saying the words Loki had been fearing; "Laufey's son."

Loki felt his chest tighten at the words; not even his real parents had wanted him. They had abandoned him because he was born too small for a giant. He hadn't even fit in on his home planet.

"Laufey's son..." Loki repeated slowly, barely able to believe it.

"Yes," Odin confirmed.

"Why? You were knee-deep in Jotun blood, why would you take me?" At that moment, he wished Odin would have simply left him there to die. Though he had always felt alone and misunderstood, never had he felt as abandoned and betrayed as at that very moment. He had no place in the world; no home, no family that wanted him - he didn't even have friends other than a couple of mortals who believed him to be a woman and knew nothing at all about him...

"You were an innocent child," Odin tried to explain, but Loki knew that wasn't it; his father always had ulterior motives. His father was a lying, manipulative scoundrel who hid under a golden cape of virtue.

"No. You took me for a purpose. What was it?" Was that all he was? A tool of some kind? Was he just here to serve a bigger purpose? Is that the reason his father had never considered him for the crown? "Tell me!" He screamed angrily, overcome by grief and rage.

"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace. Through you."

"What?" Loki muttered. Was that all he had ever been to his parents? To the only people he had ever truly cared for? Had he never meant more to his father?

"But those plans no longer matter."

"So, I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me?" At that moment, he could have killed the Allfather.

"Why do you twist my words?" Odin asked in his innocent, manipulative tone that Loki so despised.

"You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn't you?" Of course, he knew the answer: everyone would have hated and scorned him even more than they did now.

"You're my son," Odin replied in the same tone as earlier. "I wanted only to protect you from the truth."

"Why? Because I'm a monster parents tell their children about at night?" Loki nearly broke out into tears; how could that be true?  
Though Odin tried to deny it, Loki wasn't listening. "You know, it all makes sense now! Why you favored Thor all these years! Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"

While Loki yelled, Odin sagged down on the stairs leading down to the chamber, breathing heavily as if he were ill. Though Loki was so angry and full of regret towards his father, he felt bad for his words and kneeled beside him, placing his hand upon Odin's rather cold one. What was happening to him? Why was he feeling so unwell all of a sudden?

"Guards!" Loki called in alarm. "Guards, please, help!" Suddenly he was scared for his father, despite having hating him so much mere moments ago. What had he done? What kind of monster was he?


	5. Chapter 5

Though Loki was deeply upset by this whole Frost Giant deal, he tried to concentrate on Midgard; it was a welcome distraction.

“How’d you get inside that cloud?” Would Thor reveal his secrets to a mortal? Maybe this was Loki’s chance to get to know his brother from a completely different side.

“Also,” Darcy spoke while Thor stuffed his face with food. “How could you eat an entire box of Pop-Tarts and still be this hungry?” Obviously, she didn’t know Thor’s appetite.

Thor didn’t answer while he ate and finished drinking his coffee. “This drink, I like it,” he stated, satisfied.

“I know. It’s great, right?” Darcy agreed.

Thor smashed the cup on the ground, in the same fashion he always did at home. “Another!” he called.

Loki had a hard time not laughing; how could his idiot brother be so little adaptable? It had taken Loki less than an hour to blend in with humans… But then again, Thor had absolutely terrible observation skills. “Sorry, Izzy. Little accident,” Loki apologized to the lady who always served them at the diner while he tried to help clean up the mess his brother had made. “What was that?” Loki accused; Thor needed to learn that this kind of behavior was not normal for this planet. And it gave Loki the perfect chance to scold his older brother; something he had always wanted to do.

“It was delicious. I want another,” Thor declared.

“Well, you could have just said so.” There was something very alluring about being able to speak to Thor in this manner. It was so different from their usual roles in which Thor was the great heir of Asgard, while Loki was just… Loki.

“I just did.” Thor laughed a bit.

“No, I mean ask nicely.” Was Thor even capable of something like that? The Thunder God was used to always having his way and bossing everyone around… This should be fun.

Thor frowned a bit. “I meant no disrespect.”

“All right, well, no more smashing,” Loki said sternly. “Deal?”

Though Thor hesitated for a moment, giving him a weird look, he eventually smiled. “You have my word.”

“Good.” That had gone a lot better than Loki had anticipated… If he had been Loki in that moment, Thor would most likely have laughed at him.

In that moment, two men came into the diner, ordering their usual meal, whatever that was, before catching Loki’s attention as they spoke to Izzy the waitress. “You missed all the excitement out at the crater,” one said before the other continued.

“They’re saying some kind of satellite landed out in the desert.”

The first man laughed. “Yeah, we were having a good time with it until the Feds showed up.”

“Excuse me,” Jane interrupted them. “Did you say there was a satellite crash?”

The two men turned around from the counter. “Yeah,” one of them spoke.

“Oh, my god,” Darcy interrupted with one of her random babbles. “This is going on Facebook. Smile,” she said at Thor while this one continued to eat like a pig.

Loki mentally rolled his eyes; how could his brother be so retarded? It had to be Mjolnir that came down…

“What did it look like, the satellite?” Erik asked.

“I don’t know anything about satellites, but it was heavy,” the man explained. “I mean, nobody could lift it.” He laughed.

Finally, Thor’s neurons seemed to be connecting, because he got up and walked towards the man.

“They said it was radioactive. I had my hands all over it,” the man continued amused.

“Which way?” Thor asked him.

“Oh, uh… Fifty miles west of here,” one of the men told him, and Thor immediately headed out, while the second man called after him. “Well, I wouldn’t waste my time! Looked like the whole army was coming when we left.”

Loki ran after Thor who ignored the man, and randomly walked out onto the middle of the street, nearly getting himself run over. Again.

Loki followed the honking. “Where are you going?” He called as he ran after him. He had to stay with him because if that was really Mjolnir, he wanted to be there when his brother tried to lift the hammer that was supposedly only for the worthy… It couldn’t be that his Neanderthal of a brother was actually worthy of Mjolnir, right? Thor had never been worthy of the hammer, but no one had ever cared… Perhaps now, justice would be served.

“Fifty miles west of here,” Thor said as he continued walking in the middle of the street.

“Why?” Loki asked to give off the impression of innocence.

“To get what belongs to me.” The arrogant half-wit actually still considered Mjolnir his, even though he couldn’t lift it anymore.

“Oh, so you own a satellite now?” Loki asked for good measure.

“It’s not what they say it is.”

“Well, whatever it is, the government seems to think it’s theirs.” Loki really didn’t want to get involved with the local authorities; humans had no understanding for his cause, and as entertaining as it was to watch his prodigious brother struggle, it wasn’t worth putting his work on the line.  “So, you just intend to go there and take it?” Loki really wanted to see that; especially if his brother didn’t have any godly powers.

“Yes,” Thor said simply. “If you take me there now, I’ll tell you everything you wish to know.”

Loki really wanted to smack him and say he knew a lot more than Thor did, but decided to stay in character. “Everything?”

“Yes,” Thor confirmed. “All the answers you seek will be yours once I reclaim Mjolnir.”

Loki snorted internally; as if a simpleton like Thor would have the answers he was looking for…

“Mew-mew?” Darcy asked suddenly standing next to them with Erik. “What’s Mew-mew?”

“Can I have a word, Jane?” Erik interrupted, pulling Loki aside. “Please don’t do this.”

“You saw what I saw last night,” Loki made up excuses; he just really wanted to see the devastated look on his brother’s face when he realized he couldn’t wield his precious Mjolnir anymore. “This is no coincidence. We have to find out what’s in that crater.”

“But I’m not talking about the crater, I’m talking about him.”

“But he’s promising us the answers,” Loki urged.

“He’s delusional,” Erik whispered. “Listen to what he’s saying. He’s talking about Mjolnir and Thor and Bifröst. It’s the stories I grew up with as a child.” Oh that’s right… Erik was Norwegian.

“I’m just going to drive him. That’s it,” Loki argued. Though he appreciated Erik always looking out for him, right now he really didn’t need it.”

“He’s dangerous, Jane,” Erik warned, without knowing just how dangerous Thor could be if he wanted to, but right now was not one of those moments. Nevertheless, he knew Erik wouldn’t drop it; whatever, Loki would find another way to join his brother.

And so, he walked back to Thor who had been waiting aside. “I’m sorry, but I can’t take you.”

“Then this is where we say goodbye.” Thor smiled a bit sadly before reaching for Loki who immediately flinched to the side out of instinct since he was paranoid his brother would see right through him, but Thor simply took his hand, kissing it.  
Well…. That was one of the most awkward moments of his life.

Loki couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation; if Thor ever found out the truth, he would so rub this moment in his face. The mighty God of Thunder was kissing Loki’s hand… It was just too good.

“Um…” Loki said once Thor released his hand. “Thank you?” What else could he possibly say?

Thor smiled brightly at him. “Jane Foster,” he looked over at Erik, “Erik Selvig,” and then at Darcy, “Darcy. Farewell.” He bowed slightly; always so corny.

After returning a rather clumsy bow, Erik turned away with a polite smile. “All right. Back to work.”

Loki gave his brother one last glance; Thor was so different with Jane than he was with Loki… What was up with that? He was usually always so cruel to Loki; mocking him and bossing him around. Was he always different towards others? Loki had never noticed it before. He preferred this Thor over the one he knew from Asgard.

As they walked back to their rented place, they suddenly came across a truck that had all of their equipment on it.

“Hey!” Loki yelled, running after them. “That’s my stuff!” All his research! Everything he had gathered! All the information he had obtained over the past, nearly 5, years about the Infinity Stones was on that truck.

Horrified, Loki ran to their garage where all their equipment was set up. “What the hell is going on here?” He demanded.

“Miss Foster, I’m Agent Coulson with S.H.I.E.L.D.” A random man informed her.

“Is that supposed to mean something to me?” Loki snapped angrily. “You can’t do this!”

“Jane!” Erik ran up to her. “Jane, this is a lot more serious than you realize. Let it go.”

“Let it go?” Loki asked in disbelief. “This is my life!” He needed his things, otherwise the past years and everything he had to endure for it would have been in vain.

“We’re investigating a security threat,” Coulson informed them. “We need to appropriate your records and all your atmospheric data.” Obviously, he was talking about Thor. Great… Even on Earth, Thor managed to screw things up for Loki.

“By ‘appropriate’, do you mean steal?” Loki sneered.

“Here,” Coulson said, handing him a check. “This should more than compensate you for your trouble.”

“I can’t just buy replacements at Radio Shack. I made most of this equipment myself!” Loki said desperately.

“Then I’m sure you can do it again.”

“And I’m sure I can sue you for violating my constitutional rights!” Loki really wasn’t sure if he could do that, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I’m sorry, Miss Foster, but we’re the good guys,” Coulson tried to explain.

“So are we!” Well, not really, but whatever. “I’m on the verge of understanding something extraordinary!” Why was he telling this dimwitted human that? He would never able to comprehend what Loki was about to discover… Thank Yggdrasil for that. “And everything I know about this phenomenon is either in this lab or in this book. And you can’t just take this away-” The moment he said it, he knew how stupid he had been. Oh, why couldn’t he just put a lid on his anger…

“Hey!” He yelled angrily as an Agent took away his notebook that contained all his ideas, thoughts, theories, scrabbles, drawings, notes and everything else he had come up with over the past few years.

“Jane! Easy!” Erik pulled him off the Agent he wanted to murder. “Easy, Jane…”

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Coulson said politely.

Loki was going to kill him. He had no idea when or how, but he would kill that man. Helplessly, he watched as they packed up their van with all his things and drove away.

They had taken everything they had. The entire research Loki had worked on since he had gotten to Midgard - simply gone. What if someone figured out what he was working on? What if someone found an Infinity Stone before him?!  
On the other hand… Humans were too dumb for that. That was probably not going to happen. But still, his entire research was gone, and it was only a matter of a few years before the planets aligned again, possibly revealing the position of an Infinity Stone. Unfortunately, no legend spoke of an exact time frame, so it was impossible to say how many years he had left before it happened; it could be 10, but it could also just be 1, and if he missed the window, it would be gone for another five thousand years or so. Did he have enough time to catch up everything he had lost? Or maybe he should simply use his abilities and kill all those humans to take back what was his… But no… Heimdall would see and then his grand trick would have been in vain.  
As much as it pained him to live as an ordinary mortal, if he didn’t want anyone to discover his plot, he had to keep his abilities hidden no matter what.


	6. Chapter 6

“Allfather, we must speak with you urgently!” Sif approached the throne with Hogun, Volstagg and Fandral, though all paused in shock at seeing Loki sitting there.

Now that Odin had fallen into the Odinsleep due to the exhaustion of banishing Thor and the fight with Loki, the throne was finally his, albeit unofficially; at least for the time being. This was not at all the way he had wanted to claim the throne of Asgard, but if it was the only way, so be it.

“My friends,” Loki greeted calmly, though friends was actually the last thing they were.

“Where’s Odin?” Fandral asked, the first to come closer.

“Father has fallen into the Odinsleep,” Loki informed them with his most regretful voice. “Mother fears he may never awaken again.” By now, his mother’s despair was the only thing that truly bothered him, for he had long gotten over his initial guilt of having hurt the man who had pretended to be his father.

“We would speak with her,” Sif spoke up. Loki knew she hated him and wanted nothing to do with him due to that little ‘hair incident’ they had had many years ago. In her sleep, Loki had cut her beautiful golden hair out of jealousy and spite because she only had eyes for Thor even though Loki had cherished her for decades. Unfortunately, Thor had guessed the mischievous prank had been done by him, and forced him to restore it; wishing to disobey his brother’s orders, Loki had simply told a couple of dwarves to remake her hair, but refused to pay them so they ended up crafting Sif’s, once beautiful golden hair, out of night, resulting in it being pitch black instead.  
Obviously neither Thor nor Sif had ever forgiven him for it, which was understandable from Sif’s point of view, but Thor’s anger over the matter was a mystery to Loki, given his brother didn’t even seem to harbor feelings for Sif. Nevertheless, he left her pining after him for years, bathing in her adoration instead of letting her know it would never happen so she could move on to… someone else.   
Not that Loki still wanted her – he would never be satisfied by his brother’s rejected ‘leftovers’ – but his behavior still angered him.

“She has refused to leave my father’s bedside. You can bring your urgent matter to me.” Not that he really cared about their matters, but he had always wanted to be in a position to say something like that. Not to mention that looking down on Thor’s companions was a tremendous satisfaction after all their mocking and taunting over the years.  
To emphasis his point and make sure they all knew where they stood, he rose from the throne. “Your king.”

Loki didn’t miss the delicious anger and outrage in all their faces upon hearing those words; how many years had he longed to pay them back for everything they had done to him.   
With no further option, they all knelt before him, nearly making him laugh in bitter delight.

“My King,” Sif began with a tone that indicated she did not view him as such. “We would ask that you end Thor’s banishment.”

Loki chuckled softly; had she really believed his words earlier when he had said he loved Thor more dearly than any of them? It was almost sad how easy it was to fool people.   
“My first command cannot be to undo the Allfather’s last.” Even they had to admit that made sense and gave him the perfect excuse to remain on the throne. “We’re on the brink of war with Jotunheim. Our people need a sense of continuity in order to feel safe in these difficult times. All of us must stand together for the good of Asgard,” he finished once he reached the bottom of the first stairs leading down towards them.

Sif rose in anger but was held back by Hogun and Fandral. After all these years of being ignored, she was still unimaginably loyal to Thor… Pathetic.

“Yes, of course,” Fandral said obediently.

“Good. Then you will wait for my word,” Loki commanded, though he knew none of them were loyal to him or would heed his words.

“If I may,” Volstagg spoke for the first time, “beg the indulgence of Your Majesty to perhaps reconsider-” his tone of voice was filled with such mockery that Loki didn’t even care to listen to the rest of his sentence.

“We’re done!” Loki ordered firmly, dismissing them.

Though they all looked angry and disappointed, neither could do or say anything given he was the rightful king – at least for now – so they turned to leave. Sif remained a moment longer, giving him a hate filled look, but eventually, she too, left.

 

~*~

Since Thor was left on his own, he had to find a means of transportation to get him those fifty miles west to where Mjolnir had landed. As he walked down the alien streets of Midgard, he came across a store that might be able to help him.

“I need a horse!” he stated firmly as he entered.

After a moment of staring at him perplexed, the man behind the counter answered; “We don’t have horses.” What kind of a place didn’t have horses? “Just dogs, cats, birds…”

“Then give me one of those, large enough to ride.” A bird would be good – it would take him there swiftly and without problem.

A strange honking sound interrupted their conversation, and he heard Jane Foster calling. “Hey, you still need a lift?” She was driving in that strange vehicle with which she had hit him earlier. Though the vehicle seemed very primitive and was unable to fly, it seemed to work well enough to take them to the crash site while they conversed.

“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Jane said nervously.

Thor smirked; she was so cute.

“H-have you ever done something like this before?” she asked upon seeing his amused expression.

“Many times,” he informed her proudly. “But you’re brave to do it.”

~*~

Loki wanted to roll his eyes; oh, sure, Jane was brave for driving him around, but when Loki risked his life in battle for Thor, he was just called the cowardly little brother who used magic tricks instead of a sword.

“Well, they just stole my entire life’s work.” He was still very upset about that; perhaps there was some way Thor would help him get it back? Too bad he didn’t have his powers… Except no. That would be bad too. Ugh. This was such a mess. “I don’t really have much left to lose.”

Thor looked at him from the passenger’s seat. “Yeah, but you’re clever.”

Though Loki wanted to say ‘you have no idea’, he stuck to a simple “Thanks.”

“Far more clever than anyone else in this realm,” Thor observed.

“Realm?” Loki asked for lack of a better answer.

“You think me strange,” Thor said amused, though Loki mostly just thought him stupid.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Good strange or bad strange?” Thor asked gently.

If Loki didn’t know any better, he would have thought his brother was flirting with him. That was just wrong. “I’m not quite sure yet.” Loki smiled at him, trying to figure out if his brother was, indeed, flirting with Jane Foster.

Apparently he stared at his brother for a bit too long, because he came slightly off the road, nearly scaring himself to death.  
Luckily, Thor found it amusing, and so they laughed in an unusually relaxed manner.

“I’m sorry,” Loki apologized; why was he feeling so comfortable with Thor all of a sudden? He had never felt comfortable around Thor… It was a very odd and somewhat appalling feeling.

“But who are you?” Loki asked; would Thor tell him? Did he like Jane…? “Really.” A whole new idea began forming in his head. If there was some way that he could get Thor to…

“You’ll see soon enough,” Thor said entertained.

“You promised me answers,” Loki reminded him.

And there it was again: that weird, somewhat tender look that Thor gave him. “What you seek, it’s a bridge.”

“Like an Einstein-Rosen Bridge?” Loki asked curiously.

“More like a Rainbow Bridge.”

At least that proved Thor had no idea what Loki was looking for; good. “God, I hope you’re not crazy,” Loki said quietly. 

~*~

Thor was deeply impressed by the maiden’s bravery and intelligence – so far she had proven to be more than any other in this realm. Of course, she was unfamiliar with any knowledge from their world, but she appeared eager to learn, asking him a lot of questions that he almost felt compelled to answer. Should he let this mortal into his life? Was it wise to involve her?   
She was feisty and smart, and though not at all mischievous and secretive, she still somehow reminded him of his brother. What was it? Her cleverness? Her beauty? Her grace? Probably all of those.  
Well, whatever it was, Thor truly liked it. It reminded him of home and made him feel confident and strong. Something he was more pretending to be than truly being at the moment; having been banished like a criminal wasn’t only degrading but also terrifying.

 

~*~

While he drove with Thor to the crater on Earth, on Asgard Loki joined his mother in Odin’s bed chamber to see how far his father was in his sleep. If it were up to Loki, the Allfather should remain sleeping for good.

“I never get used to seeing him like this,” Loki said softly.

“He’s put it off for so long now, that I fear…”

“How long will it last?” Loki asked his mother, hoping she could give him the good news of his death. Sometimes Odin only slept for a night, at other times a week – depending on how much energy he needed to restore – but it was impossible to say how long he would be asleep this time.

“I don’t know. This time it’s different. We were unprepared,” Frigga said softly, holding her husband’s hand.

Loki wanted to strike at the god and finish him off for good, but held on to his patience. “So why did he lie?” Perhaps Frigga would be able to give him some solace. His mother was the only one who had ever stood by him and gifted him with the same love as her other son; not to mention that she was the one who taught him magic.

“He kept the truth from you so you would never feel different. You are our son, Loki, and we, your family.” That was not at all the way it had felt throughout his life. He had always known he was different; he had felt it but been unable to explain it.

Frigga continued; “We mustn’t lose hope that your father will return to us. And your brother.”

Loki considered neither man to be what she called them. “What hope is there for Thor?” He had actually hoped his brother would be banished for good.

“There’s always a purpose to everything your father does,” Frigga urged him, reminding him that even the reason Loki was still alive served a higher purpose; it only made him hate Odin more. “Thor may yet find a way home.”

Anger began rising in Loki again; so his mother actually believed Thor would return… That’s what she wanted. Their mother also favored Thor. Of course, she did – everyone did.   
Without another word, Loki stood up, unwilling to remain in his parents’ presence any longer.

Right before he reached the doors though, these opened, revealing Odin’s Einherjar guards who all kneeled before him, startling him a bit.   
One of Odin’s men approaching him with the Allfather’s scepter, kneeling before him and holding it out to him.

Loki gave him an uncertain glance before turning around to stare at his mother who spoke; “Thor is banished, the line of succession falls to you. Until Odin awakens, Asgard is yours.”

Loki could hardly believe his ears. So easy? Nothing else? Warily, he took the scepter, overcome with the incredible sensation of power and… something else. What was it? Sadness? Disappointment? It didn’t feel as good as he thought it would. He wanted to become king because it was his place; because his father had chosen him; because he was the worthy son to become king, not because Thor was banished and Odin unable to rule…

“Make your father proud,” Frigga said gently. “My king.”

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter how or why. What mattered was that he was officially king and had control over everything and everyone. And he would use that power to ensure Thor would never return.

 

~*~

“That’s no satellite crash!” Jane whispered as they saw the crater that had been taken over by… Thor had no idea who. “They would have hauled the wreckage away, they wouldn’t have built a city around it.”

“You’re going to need this,” Thor said gently, taking off his coat and placing it upon her delicate shoulders.

“What?” Jane asked confused. “Wait, why?”

Thunder began rolling around, immediately making Thor feel better. “Now stay here. Once I have Mjolnir, I will return the items they’ve stolen from you. Deal?”

~*~

Loki stared at his brother; would he really? But what if he wasn’t capable of lifting the hammer? Damn Odin… No wait. Loki didn’t want Thor to be able to lift the hammer… Except Thor was his only hope of getting his things back… Oh, cruel irony.

“No,” Loki refused the deal. “Look what’s down there.” What if Thor really would be capable of retrieving Mjolnir? What was more important, killing Thor or finding the Infinity Stone?! “You think you’re just gonna walk in, grab our stuff and walk out?” At this point, Loki was just stalling to give himself more time to think.

“No,” Thor said confidently. “I’m going to fly out.” With that, he walked away.

How Loki wished his brother’s arrogance would bite him in the ass. To see his brother failing, Loki was even willing to give up his research and equipment. Hell, for that he was even willing to give up an Infinity Stone… There were six after all; sooner or later, Loki would get his hands on one of them.

It wasn’t long before the alarm went off, indicating that they had noticed Thor’s intrusion. What if Thor wasn’t able to get Mjolnir? What if he wouldn’t come back for Loki?  
Great…   
Loki pulled out his cellphone; he would not be stranded here just because his brother was a presumptuous cretin who didn’t know when to quit.

 _“You’ve reached doctor Erik Selvig. Please leave a message.”_ Erik’s mailbox went on.

“Hi, Erik. It’s me. Don’t worry, I’m fine, but um… just in case you don’t hear from me in the next hour, just come by the crater site and try and find me, okay? I did exactly what you told me not to. I’m sorry. So sorry. Bye.” He hung up. Erik was reliable; he would come pick him up for sure.


	7. Chapter 7

The closer Thor got to his adored hammer, the more he could feel it’s proximity; it called to him like a lover’s heartbeat. Without Mjolnir, he was incomplete. The desire to be reunited with his weapon was enough to strengthen his body that had been weakened ever since his banishment, allowing him to fight off the government guards who were foolish enough to believe they could keep him away from what was rightfully his.

And finally, there it was. Atop a dirt pillar that had been dug out of the ground, stood Mjolnir, untouched, waiting for him.   
Relief washed over him as he was finally able to wrap his aching fingers around its leather shaft, but the emotion soon turned to confusion and fear as he realized he was unable to lift the hammer. What was happening? Why was it so heavy? This was impossible! What had his father done?! How would he ever return home?

Thor screamed up into the sky, knowing his father could hear him. How could he have done this to him?  
Hopelessly, he finally sunk down to the ground, bereft of all his earlier will to fight.  
The government guards moved in swiftly, taking him prisoner, but he was too disappointed and hurt to try and fight them off.

 

~*~

“He committed a crime. He’s in jail!” Erik reminded Loki for the tenth time.

“I can’t just leave him there!” Loki argued back; there was no way he would stand by and watch while someone else was responsible for his brother’s failure. If anyone was going to beat Thor, it would be Loki.

“Why?” Erik asked exasperatedly.

“You didn’t see what I saw!” Loki tried to argue from Jane’s point of view, though it was difficult.

Their arguing was interrupted by Darcy gasping. “Look! Look, it’s Mew-mew!”

Loki went over to her where she held out a human storybook for him that depicted a rather odd version of Mjolnir. Though Loki knew that humans had myths and legends about Asgardians, he had never been particularly interested in reading about it because most of it was wrong anyway.

“Where’d you find this?” he asked curiously.

“The children’s section,” Erik said flatly.

Loki flipped to a page about him, with an image that was probably supposed to be him… That was so off. No wonder he didn’t bother to read these silly human stories.

“I just wanted to show you how silly his story was,” Erik said softly; if only he knew… Loki wished he could tell him.

“But you’re the one who’s always pushing me to chase down every possibility, every alternative!” Loki reminded him.

“I’m talking about science, not magic!”

Loki almost laughed; he knew more about magic than most others did… And more about science than anyone in this realm. “Well, magic’s just science that we don’t understand yet. Arthur C. Clark,” he countered, though that wasn’t entirely true; everyone could learn science… But only few were gifted with magic.

“Who wrote science fiction,” Erik reminded him.

“A precursor to science fact!” Loki quite liked his works, even if they were far from the truth sometimes.

“In some cases, yeah.”

“Well, if there is an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, then there’s something on the other side, and advanced beings could have crossed it!” Was he saying too much? He really wanted to show Erik Asgard… The man would be overwhelmed.

“Oh, Jane,” Erik said outraged; obviously he wasn’t ready yet.

“A primitive culture like the Vikings might have worshipped them as deities,” Darcy spoke up, reminding them that she was still there in the room.

“Yes!” Loki said enthusiastically. “Yes, exactly. Thank you.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Darcy nodded while Erik just sighed in defeat.

Loki needed to go see his brother.

~*~

The guards took Thor to a small, bright room where he was questioned by a stiff agent that others called Coulson. The man wanted to know where he had received his training, but obviously Thor couldn’t explain it to him; not only because he wouldn’t understand, but also because he would have never believed him.

As the man left without having received a single answer, Loki suddenly stood in front of him, having appeared out of nowhere. Thor had never been happier to see him; he wanted to embrace him and kiss him to death, but since that was out of the question, he settled for asking what his brother wanted.

“I had to see you,” Loki said softly, and for a moment Thor completely misunderstood the meaning of those words, but quickly remembered that his brother did not yearn for him.

“What’s happened?” Certainly Loki hadn’t come for him… That was too good to be true, was it not? “Tell me. Is it Jotunheim? Let me explain to father.”

“Father is dead,” Loki said flatly.

“What?” Thor asked in disbelief. That couldn’t be. Loki had to be wrong. This had to be a cruel prank. But no, not even Loki would be so wicked.

His brother looked devastated. “Your banishment, the threat of a new war… It was too much for him to bear.”

Thor nearly broke down at his brother’s words. This was all his fault… He had brought this upon them; he had defied his father’s words and started the war with Jotunheim. How could he have been so reckless?

“You mustn’t blame yourself,” Loki encouraged him, trying to make him feel better. Even though Thor knew he was wrong because all of this was his fault, his brother’s words still made him feel better; at least Loki didn’t blame him and still cared for him. His adoring, faithful brother still loved him despite the atrocious mistake Thor had made.  
“I know that you loved him. I tried to tell him so, but he wouldn’t listen. It was so cruel to put that hammer within your reach, knowing that you could never lift it.”

Thor fought back the bitter tears of regret and shame, unwilling to let his brother know how desperate he was. He had never dared to be weak in front of Loki because he knew his brother had no respect for weakness, and the last thing he needed right now was a disapproving look from the only person who could comfort him in this darkest of hours.

“The burden of the throne has fallen to me now,” Loki continued dismally, and Thor lifted his head in shock; his brother was king? Surely he would allow him to return home then? Loki loved him – he wouldn’t leave him here, bereft of his power, doomed to live the life of a mortal, right?

~*~

“Can I come home?” Thor asked with the humblest voice Loki had ever heard from him. It was almost too good to be true: his mighty, imperious brother, once heir to the throne of the Realm Eternal, had fallen and was begging to come home with tears in his eyes. The sight was positively orgasmic.

It took all of Loki’s strength not to laugh in his face and mock him. “The truce with Jotunheim is conditional upon your exile,” he said in the most regrettable voice he could muster.

Thor looked even more devastated than before. “Yes, but couldn’t we find a way…?” he stuttered.

“And mother has forbidden your return.” Loki knew how much Thor loved their mother; her disapproval would break his heart. “This is goodbye, brother.”  
In that moment, for the first time in his life, he almost felt a little sorry for his brother, but quickly swallowed it; this was not to the moment to become weak. “I’m so sorry,” he lied instead – or at least convinced himself that he lied.

“No.” Thor shook his head. “I am sorry. Thank you for coming here,” he said earnestly. This Thor was so different from the one Loki had known his entire life; he was so… gentle and humble. Loki barely recognized him.

“Farewell,” Loki said his goodbye with every intention to walk away, but found himself unable to. What was it about the fallen god that captivated him so much?   
His instinctive answer was that he was enjoying his brother’s suffering because this was the moment he had dreamt of ever since they had been kids: the moment in which he would be great and Thor would be finished, but somehow his victory didn’t feel as sweet as he had anticipated.   
Angrily and confused, Loki finally turned away, unwilling to witness the devastation in those bright blue eyes. How dare Thor ruin his victory, yet again! How could it be that Thor won even when he finally lost?!

Filled with rage at his own compassion, Loki stalked towards Mjolnir, hidden from the mortals by his magic.

 _‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’_ Odin’s words rung in his ears. Loki knew he wasn’t worthy of the hammer, but had to try anyway, simply because he wanted it so much. Why couldn’t he, for once in his life, have something that belonged to Thor? Just once?

But no, of course it wasn’t to be.

 

~*~

 

Upon being rescued by Erik under some silly pretense, Thor joined him in a bar with the intention to drink away his sorrows, but unfortunately human alcohol was far too weak for his system and barely made him tipsy. Yet, he found that Erik was a smart man with whom he could share his thoughts and worries.

“You know, I had it all backwards. I had it all wrong.” It was the first time he openly admitted to such a dire mistake – and that to a mortal. But perhaps that was the reason it was so easy; unlike Asgardians, humans were simple and full of flaws. He felt comfortable and understood.

“It’s not a bad thing, finding out that you don’t have all the answers,” Erik shrugged. “You start asking the right questions.”

Thor had never seen it from such a point of view before becuse he had always had all the answers to absolutely everything. “For the first time in my life I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.” He was filled with the grief of his father’s death, his mother’s rejection, losing Mjolnir, and the heart-shattering fact that he may never see Loki again. And to top all that off, he was stuck on Earth, perhaps for good.

“Anyone who’s ever going to find his way in this world has to start by admitting he doesn’t know where the hell he is.” Obviously, this world was not Asgard. But perhaps Erik was right; after all, Thor was nothing more than an ordinary human here.

“Thank you for what you’ve done.”

“No, don’t thank me. I only did it for Jane. Her father and I taught at university together. He was a good man. He never listened…” Erik narrated.

“Neither did I,” Thor said drily. Maybe his father had been right to banish him here... Maybe this place was exactly what he needed. “My father was trying to teach me something, but I was too stupid to see it.” But he saw it now, and he was determined to prove himself.

Erik turned towards him with a rather gloomy expression. “I don’t know if you’re delusional or if you’re pulling some kind of con – I don’t care. I just care about her.”

Thor was quite impressed by his words; after all, she wasn’t even his own daughter, yet he looked after her so much.

“I’ve seen the way she looks at you,” Erik continued, somewhat displeased.

The way she looked at him? What way? Oh, that way. Thor had been looked at ‘that way’ many times before, but the only person who had ever managed to capture his attention, was the one who never looked at him that way… The one who had no more than brotherly feelings for him.   
“I swear to you, I mean her no harm.” Though he had noticed her beauty and intellect, he hadn’t truly considered her to be a worthy partner for him. The mere thought of giving his heart to someone other than Loki, was beyond his power of imagination. Though he had to admit that she was very different from any woman he had ever met.

“Good.” Erik gave him a firm nod before smiling. “In that case, I’ll buy you another round, and you leave town tonight.”

Thor had no objection; since he was unworthy of Mjolnir, there was nothing keeping him here.

 

~*~

As Loki landed on Jotunheim, he felt the pleasant cold washing over his body like a gentle wave that cooled his inner turmoil. Though he had felt it last time too, he hadn’t been so aware of it and disregarded it as simple coldness.

As he entered the Frost Giants’ throne room, he carefully approached Laufey – his father. The man who had left him in the temple to die… It was custom to leave unwanted children – usually those who had been born deformed – in the temple. That way, if fate would have it, someone else could find them and claim them as their own.  
Was it fate that Odin had taken him? Was it his fate to suffer like this, among a race that didn’t want him? Was it his fate to be alone forever?

“Kill him,” Laufey’s deep voice rumbled somewhere above him.

Loki gave him a feigned offended look. “After all I’ve done for you?” he asked amused.

Luckily Laufey wasn’t too stupid and got the message rather quickly, though he appeared surprised. “So you’re the one who showed us the way into Asgard.”

“That was just a bit of fun, really.” Loki smirked. “To ruin my brother’s big day. And to protect the realm from his idiotic rule for a while longer.”

“I will hear you,” Laufey allowed him to come closer between all the giant guards.

“I will conceal you and a handful of your soldiers, lead you into Odin’s chambers, and you can slay him where he lies.” During the Odin sleep, though fully aware of his surroundings, Odin was left as defenseless as an infant child.

“Why not kill him yourself?” Laufey asked confused, but Loki gave a short laugh.

“I suspect that the Asgardians would not take kindly to a king who had murdered his predecessor. Once Odin is dead, I will return the Casket to you and you can return Jotunheim to all its, uh…” Loki looked around a bit at the bleak surroundings, “glory.”

Laufey had risen from his throne, indicating that Loki had his full attention. “I accept,” the Frost King agreed.

 

And so, Loki returned to Asgard through the Bifröst, another step closer to his plan. “What troubles you, Gatekeeper?” he sneered at Heimdall as he landed.

“I turned my gaze upon you in Jotunheim, but could neither see you nor hear you. You were shrouded from me like the Frost Giants that entered this realm.” Obviously Heimdall knew.

“Perhaps your senses have weakened after your many years of service,” Loki offered coldly.

“Or perhaps someone has found a way to hide that which he does not wish me to see,” Heimdall accused mildly.

Loki silently thanked the sorcerer Eldred who had taught him in the black arts during his youth; had it not been for his harsh training, Loki would not be the sorcerer he had grown up to become.   
“You have great power, Heimdall. Did Odin ever fear you?” Loki tried to engage him in conversation to discover where his loyalties lay.

“No.”

“And why is that?” Loki asked casually.

“Because he is my king and I am sworn to obey him.”

Loki felt anger boil up inside him. “He _was_ your king, and you are sworn to obey me now. Yes?” Why was it that no one accepted him even now that he was king? Could they somehow sense that he was not one of them? Loki had always believed that once he was king, everything would be fine, but even as King of Asgard, he was unable to fit in with these people.

Heimdall’s pause and hesitation was far too long, but eventually he replied anyway; “Yes.”

“Then you will open the Bifröst to no one until I have repaired the damage that my brother has done.”

As all-seeing as Heimdall may be, he was blinded by Loki’s illusions, just like Thor who would, hopefully, soon step into Loki’s new, twisted trap.  
Though at first he hadn’t even dared think it, meanwhile he was determined to take advantage of his brother’s fondness for Jane Foster, though he had no idea how or when it would be profitable for him. But one thing was for certain: owning Thor’s heart could only prove to be useful.


End file.
